Philosophical explorations essay prize 2012

In 1662, the newly formed 'Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge' was granted a charter to publish by King
Charles II and on 6 March 1665, the first issue of Philosophical Transactions was published under the visionary editorship of Henry Oldenburg, who was also the Secretary of the Society. The first volumes
of what was the world's first scientific journal were very different from today's journal, but in essence it served the same
function; namely to inform the Fellows of the Society and other interested readers of the latest scientific discoveries. As
such, Philosophical Transactions established the important principles of scientific priority and peer review, which have become the central foundations of
scientific journals ever since. In 1886, the breadth and scope of scientific discovery had increased to such an extent that
it became necessary to divide the journal into two, Philosophical Transactions A and B , covering the physical sciences and the life sciences respectively.